Review: Descendents @ The Gov 08/06/26
Iconic punks Descendents swung by Adelaide to let everyone know that Everything Sucks, and we couldn’t agree more.
Words Brad Pine // Images Thomas Jackson
Descendents w/The Lizards & The Shorts @ The Gov 08/06/26
In my first year of teaching high school, I was introduced to Descendents by one of my senior students. He had a Milo badge on his laptop bag; he explained the band to me and concluded that I was “straight edge”. After this, I said I would give them a listen. The album I chose to listen to was Everything Sucks. This continued my journey in punk discovery, which led all the way to this gig celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of Everything Sucks.
Arriving in Adelaide during the middle of their Run Down Under Tour, a steady line of punk aficionados filled The Gov, adorned with punk jackets and black t-shirts emblazoned with Misfits, Pennywise and other punk contemporaries.
The Shorts were the first support for the night. A quick “howyadoin’” before blasting straight into their opener ‘Sharks.’ The pounding vocals were shared mainly between drummer Brodie Glen and bassist Simon Sharp, with the latter quipping that many of their songs “start or end with bass”, to which Glen replied, “Guess who is the main attraction?”
The banter continued during their powerful punk set, which included a cover of Journey’s ‘Anyway’, but it was ‘Ladies Night In Woomelang’ that had the biggest cheer for their set, warming up the crowd perfectly.
In between sets, members of The Lizards (Pat Ramm, Leigh Vergou and Kyle Sambell) were standing on the side of the stage near me, so I was able to chat to them before they went on. Awesomely nice, they were hugely excited and ready for a great show. Frontman and guitarist Ramm discussed how stoked they were to be here before they exploded on stage for their time in the spotlight.
As with The Shorts beforehand, The Lizards got everyone’s blood pumping with their hybrid punk meets hardcore sound. A highlight was the impressive drumming of Sambell during ‘Beyond Me’, but overall, the set was insanely good. Their excitement to be part of the tour was evident, and their home crowd was more than happy to be part of it.
All hands were on deck to break down the stage for the main act. And in no time, Descendents appeared to a roaring cheer. Vocalist Milo Aukerman, water bottle strapped to his body, had a quick chat to start. “All the coffee places were closed… What? King’s birthday. We have a king back home… We don’t want him either… It fucking sucks right now.” What a perfect way to blast into ‘Everything Sux’ and ‘I’m The One’ as the pit started to form.
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The joy on the faces of every band member was infectious – especially guitarist Stephen Egerton, who seemed to be having the time of his life. Every song got a unique cheer from someone new in the crowd; everyone had their favourite, and Descendents were ready to deliver. ‘Clean Sheets’ was one of mine and the sweaty crowd delivered the refrain “clean sheets are dirty / and so are you” with gusto.
Their set was unrelenting. ‘Good Good Thing’ had Aukerman get down to the front row, handing the mic to those in attendance amongst the crowd surfers tumbling overhead. Amidst the full-on assault of punk, the lyrics of ‘When I Get Old’ and ‘Get The Time’ pierced my soul as they did others. These songs, although abrupt on the surface, sometimes have a sentiment that resonates with those of all ages.
Aukerman changed his mic for the start of ‘She Loves Me’ – a kind of signal for the halfway point of the set. Egerton and Aukerman revisited ‘Weinerschnitzel’ before ‘Hateful Notebook’ – a classic example of how tight the band was as pioneers of So-Cal punk. This half also saw some of the shorter songs like ‘Bear’ and another of my favourites, ‘Eunuch Boy’ (trust me, a great twenty-second journey), get a workout.
‘Bikeage’ had the crowd shouting along as loud as they could. “I’m not a punk!” Aukerman exclaimed, “but keep it slammin’.” The pit did just that, with more crowd surfers, new and repeat offenders joining the fray. ‘Suburban Home’ had Aukerman in the front row again, singing along with a lucky few. And before we knew it, the show finished. It felt like it just started.
The inevitable encore arrived among the shouts of “ONE MORE SONG!” ‘Silly Girl’ and ‘Merican’ kept the sing-alongs going with the closer ‘Smile’ doing what they asked us to do – “leave with a smile on your faces.”
For the diehard Descendents fans, this was a night to remember. For the casual punk enthusiast, you could not ask for more either. The brilliant support from The Shorts and The Lizards allowed for a full-on night of punk intensity. Aukerman mentioned that their 1987 album ALL is almost 40, so hopefully we see the band again next year. See, everything doesn’t suck.
Want more pics of the gig? Check out our full photo gallery here.
